AEC BUSES IN OXFORD BY BARRY HITCHCOX · 1 of 6   · Lowheight AEC Regent & Bridgemaster types · www.aecsouthall.co.uk presents a selection of black & white images from the Barry Hitchcox archive of AEC buses photographed in Oxford between 1960 and 1962. Before moving to London, Barry's local home bus fleet was City of Oxford Motor Services, in the days when the city offered a feast of AECs.  Barry built up a collection of photos depicting the Oxford fleet between about 1958/9 (with the demise of the last Guys) and 1961/2 (which saw the arrival of the Dennis Lolines) when the fleet was exclusively AEC! For 6½ years up to July 1988 Barry was a driver at London Transport's Streatham Garage (and a conductor for a year and a half before that).  He would drive mainly AEC-engined RMs on routes 49 and 159 (very few of Streatham's RMs had Leyland engines) and RMLs on routes 37 and 137.  Barry is not alone in his view that the Routemaster is probably the best thing ever to run on four (or six!) wheels, and he felt truly honoured to have had that direct contact with AEC products. But back to the Oxford of the early 1960s, and Gloucester Green Bus Station - where most of these lowheight double deckers were photographed. C L I C K   A   T H U M B N A I L   F O R   A   L A R G E R   I M A G E L138   NWL 712 Regent III 9612A4122 L152   OFC 376 Regent III 9612A4678 L158   PWL 405 Regent III 9613A5616 L162   PWL 409 Regent III 9613A5620 L168   SFC 434 Regent III 9613A7083 L174   TWL 174 Regent III 9613S7215 L187   187 AWL Regent V MD3RV229 L193   193 BFC Regent V MD3RV304 L196   196 KFC Regent V MD3RV543 L199   199 KFC Regent V MD3RV546 306   306 MFC Bridgemaster 2B3RA121 308   308 MFC Bridgemaster 2B3RA123 One constant presence in the Gloucester Green of the day was SFC1, the pristine 1952 Regent III/ Merryweather Dual Purpose fire appliance.  As Barry says " .. if only I'd swivelled round 180 degrees!!" :: Click here for City of Oxford AEC single deckers :: Acknowledgements Many thanks to Barry Hitchcox for permission to use his photos and to Peter Relf for MD3RV chassis details vangastow@aecsouthall.co.uk